Uranus was presented to the knowledge of man as an
unexpected reward for honest work. It was first
mistaken by its discoverer for a comet, a mere cloud
of vapor; but it proved to be a world, and extended
the [Page 174] boundaries of our solar system, in
the moment of its discovery, as much as all investigation
had done in all previous ages.

Sir William Herschel was engaged in mapping stars
in 1781, when he first observed its sea-green disk.
He proposed to call it Georgium Sidus, in honor
of his king; but there were too many names of the
gods in the sky to allow a mortal name to be placed
among them. It was therefore called Uranus, since,
being the most distant body of our system, as was
supposed, it might appropriately bear the name of
the oldest god. Finding anything in God’s
realms of infinite riches ought not to lead men to
regard that as final, but as a promise of more to
follow.

This planet had been seen five times by Flamsteed
before its character was determined—­once
nearly a century before—­and eight times
by Le Monnier. These names, which might easily
have been associated with a grand discovery, are associated
with careless observation. Eyes were made not
only to be kept open, but to have minds behind them
to interpret their visions. Herschel thought he
discovered six moons belonging to Uranus, but subsequent
investigation has limited the number to four.
Two of these are seen with great difficulty by the
most powerful telescopes.

If the plane of our moon’s orbit were tipped
up to a greater inclination, revolving it on the line
of nodes as an axis until it was turned 85 deg., the
moon, still continuing on its orbit in that plane,
would go over the poles instead of about the equator,
and would go back to its old path when the plane was
revolved 180 deg.; but its revolution would now be
from east to west, or [Page 175] retrograde.
The plane of the moons of Uranus has been thus inclined
till it has passed 10 deg. beyond the pole, and the
moons’ motions are retrograde as regards other
known celestial movements. How Uranus itself
revolves is not known. There are more worlds to
conquer.